If you are in Sicily you will surely have a very full schedule. This island is a continent and offers so many beautiful things to see that you may have no time to stop for long … even in the most beautiful place in the world, such as Mount Etna! So, if you have to – and want to! – see Etna in just one day … where will you go?
Before leaving, always remember that …
Before leaving, always remember that if you are not familiar with the area it is important to rely on an expert guide. Volcanoes are not “just another” mountain, they hide traps and secrets and are much more complex than a normal mountain. The route we propose is simple and quick, easy to do even with a rental car and along paved roads. But if you are not used to driving in Sicily or if you have never been on a volcano before … hire a guide anyway!
Etna in one day: first stop, Silvestri Craters
They are the best impact for those who have never seen a volcano, before. The Silvestri craters, an eruptive buttonhole formed in 1892, are now completely extinct but maintain that wild and ferocious air that you would expect from the top of a volcano. Imposing, with that reddish-brown color, a hole in the center, they allow close-up exploration: you can literally walk inside the smallest crater, you can climb to the top of the middle-sized one and admire all the others around from above. If you don’t have time to take the nearby cable car and go up to the real craters, the smoking ones at the top, taking some photos on the edge of the Silvestri craters will be equally exciting.
The only flaw: from the Silvestri you can’t see the top of Etna, but along the road that goes up from Zafferana or Nicolosi you can admire it at every bend.
Second stop: Sartorius Craters
Going down the SP92 road along the eastern side of Etna, at the height of Milo you will take the Mareneve road that goes up towards the northern side. Suddenly, along the way, you will come across a crossroads that indicates Piano Provenzana on one side and Rifugio Citelli on the other. You will turn towards Citelli, but before reaching the refuge, stop at the entrance to the path of the Sartorius Craters. Similar to the Silvestri (these however opened in 1865), this series of extinct craters dominates a much less barren landscape. Climbing the two lowest, you shall admire both the coast and the peak of Etna and, all around you, birches and oak forests.
Along the road that goes up to Sartorius, before the crossroads for Citelli, you can stop at the Grotte dei Briganti and Grotta della Neve. These are lava flow caves easy to visit: the descent is simple and the route to walk is short. You can easily park your vehicle on the dirt square, nearby.
Third Stop: Pineta Ragabo
After visiting the Sartorius, go back to the previous crossroads. This time take the direction of Piano Provenzana and continue through splendid oak and pine forests interrupted every now and then by sciàre (ancient lava flows) of varying sizes. At the next crossroads continue towards Ragabo and Brunek. You will park next to a nice refuge-restaurant and you can then walk along a shady path that immerses you in the pine forest. The path is part of a very long and difficult circular route, but you can stop at the first part, arriving at the Etna Park rangers’ barracks.
If you want to continue just beyond the barracks, you may find yourself walking in the middle of the great lava flow of 2002 that threatened and destroyed some tourist resorts on the northern side. From some high points of this lava route, when the air is clear, you can admire the peaks of the Nebrodi mountains to the north and even the Aeolian Islands in the distance. This last part of the route, however, depending on the time you have left before returning to the hotel, may not be feasible. In that case, you will just need to rest a bit at the barracks and then return. (PHOTOS BY GRAZIA MUSUMECI)